Stillwater baseball staves off comeback, defeats Mounds View 8-7

The Mustangs' rally fell short in the seventh inning

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The No. 17 Stillwater Ponies defeated the No. 3 Mounds View Mustangs 8-7 Friday at Mounds View High School.

Stillwater built a huge lead after a massive fourth inning. The Mustangs had a multitude of fielding miskates that ultimately lead up to a 7-1 lead.

Pitcher Alex Oehlke stymied the Mustangs throughout the first few innings, and relief pitcher Alex Matchey came in the game and did much the same. Matchey looked great in the few innings he pitched until the bottom of the seventh.

Mounds View pitcher Drew Rogers, who had a tough day on the mound, came through in the clutch in the bottom of the seventh inning, hitting a three run double in the bottom of the seventh to make the game interesting.

Matchey continued to close the door on the Mustangs after a furious comeback and the Ponies prevailed 8-7.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Mounds View struggles in the field

The Mustangs lost this game in the fourth inning. Mounds View had issues fielding ground balls throughout the game, and it felt the pressure early on with a big rally by the Ponies.

The Mustangs also had issues with errors on pick-off plays and had a major error down the stretch after a sacrifice bunt attempt ended with all runners being safe. The runner who advanced to third base on the play scored what would become the winning run for the Ponies.

Mounds View comeback is too little too late

The Mustangs battled back with Stillwater struggling to get the ball over the plate in the bottom of the seventh. The Mustangs had a rough start from their pitching staff, but their bullpen came in and shut down the Ponies offense after the fourth inning.

Both teams have great opportunity to make noise later in the season

Stillwater assistant coach Lawrence George had this to say after the game on Friday evening:

"[We] feel really great about it, and now we have to win against one of the top teams.”

There will not be any opportunity for Stillwater to rest as the Ponies travel to face Cretin-Derham Hall tomorrow. If the Ponies struggle down the stretch, like they did in this game, they could be in for a long game against the top team in the state.

Mounds View coach Matt Harringsaw stated after the game that they need “energy throughout the game, more consistent energy throughout the game after falling down early."

Here is our photo gallery from the game:

Mounds View vs. Stillwater

Photos by Jon Namyst